SuN
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TWO-tonne white rhinoceros Satara went on a jealous rampage when he discovered his mate had been paired with a younger male in an South Australian zoo.
The 18-year-old bull escaped his enclosure in the 2500ha Monarto Zoo park early yesterday, sparking a wide-scale search.
Monarto Zoo senior curator Peter Clark said he believed the escape occurred because a younger male rhino had been paired with the female, Uhura. He said Satara had 'got wind of this and I think he got a bit jealous'.
Satara had previously been scheduled to mate with Uhura, however 'he wouldn't come up to the task', said Mr Clark.
Satara, who arrived from Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2002, fathered Uhura's first baby, Watoto, born at Monarto in 2005.
Zoo staff tracked and found Satara yesterday, shooting five tranquiliser darts at him throughout the day. But some bounced off.
"If this had continued, the last resort unfortunately would have been to destroy the animal but thankfully it didn't come to that," said Mr Clark.
While he did not manage to get into the separate enclosure where the other rhinos were being held, Satara did manage to save his own skin by wandering back into his enclosure yesterday at 5.30pm.
"It was good conclusion and everyone involved did a fantastic job," said Mr Clark. "(Earlier) he got very close to a couple of the perimeter fences which held up quite well, but he did crash through some of the smaller fences within the zoo."
At one stage he had been within 30m of the zoo's front gates.
About 25 people and a helicopter were involved in the operation to try to recapture Satara.
Zoo chief executive Dr Chris West said the escape was probably a display of male rivalry.
"They have a good sense of smell and he may well have picked up the fact that (a female) was cycling and receptive and the instinct and the urge would be very powerful," he said.
Satara is part of an international breeding program for the white rhinoceros, an endangered species.
"We don't know how we can oblige him, we might have to give him a cold shower," he said.
The wooden reinforcements around the rhino enclosure will be reviewed by the zoo.
Awwww! <3
